Domain Names As Easy As 123.sg

22 October 2007 - Internet users can soon look up website addresses easily with just numbers, and website owners can use their favourite numbers as their website addresses.  This is because pure numeric domain names will be introduced by the Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC) to link websites to businesses, organisations and even personal pages.

Singapore, 22 October 2007 | For Immediate Release

Fully Numeric Domain Names Can Soon Be Used

Internet users can soon look up website addresses easily with just numbers, and website owners can use their favourite numbers as their website addresses.  This is because pure numeric domain names will be introduced by the Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC) to link websites to businesses, organisations and even personal pages.

While alphanumeric domain names already exist, (eg, www.in2015.sg), fully numeric ones like www.123.sg have not been allowed till now. The restriction stemmed from the early days of the Internet, when there were concerns that pure numeric domain names (eg. 10203010.com) could be confused with Internet Protocol addresses (eg. 10.20.30.10), especially with the early operating systems and software used back then.

With the rapid advancement in technology, today’s operating systems and software are more intelligent and resilient in differentiating and working between domain names and IP addresses. More registries around the world have also started to permit the use of pure numeric domain names, including China and South Korea.

SGNIC, the national registry for domain names, will now also allow pure numeric domain names in all the seven .sg categories
(ie. .sg, .com.sg, .net.sg, .org.sg, .gov.sg, .edu.sg, .per.sg). The registration for pure numeric domain names will be phased accordingly:

• 05 November – 28 December 2007¹: All qualifying applicants including businesses and individuals can register. Trademark owners² will get priority over other applicants. Example: A company with "123" as its trademark will get priority for 123.sg, or in any other .sg domain category.
  
  
• 18 January – 22 February 2008: Bidding process will take place during this period for domain names with multiple applications.
  
  
• 27 March 2008 onwards: General launch, with allocations on a first-come, first-served basis.

Desirable Domains

Just as there are prized car numbers and mobile phone numbers, domain names with certain numeric significance will also have a price premium attached to them. There are three such categories identified as platinum, golden and silver numeric domain names.

SGNIC general manager Lim Choon Sai said: “Pure numeric domain names are gaining popularity around the world, especially in places like China, Taiwan, Japan and South Korea.

“Amid these numeric domains are some number patterns that may be sought after because they have a familiar ring about them. Some might even be deemed as auspicious, especially within the Asian culture. These platinum, golden and silver domain names will join the spectrum of colourful website addresses that make up Singapore’s vibrant online scene. We are definitely looking forward to see some creative uses of numeric domains.”

Domain Types

Platinum	Golden	Silver	Ordinary
Single-digit domain names Takes the form 1.sg, 2.sg, 3.sg and so on. Only 10 such domain names in each of the domain name categories. Initial base bid of S$40,000	Two- to 11-digit domain names No fixed form, but generally has an easily-recognisable pattern like XX.sg, or XYXY.sg. Some 4,300 Golden permutations. Initial base bid of S$1,000	Three- to 11-digit domain names No fixed form, but it may bear a longer pattern like XXXXXY.sg, or XYXYXYXYX.sg More than 12,000 Silver numeric domains available Initial base bid of S$600	Five- to 11-digit domain names All other permutations of pure numeric domains More than 100 billion pure numeric domains available. Initial base bid of S$200

(Note: X denotes digits from = 0-9, Y=0-9 excluding X)

Please refer to our website at www.sgnic.sg for more details.

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ISSUED BY THE SINGAPORE NETWORK INFORMATION CENTRE

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Notes to Editor:

¹ After this period is closed, the remaining premium numbers (only refers to the Platinum, Golden and Silver numbers) not taken up will be reserved by SGNIC and subsequently released again for bidding at a later suitable time.

² Trademark owners need to be registered with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore (IPOS).

Related Resource:

• SGNIC Numeric Domain Names Launch Timeline & Schedule (28.58KB)

About Singapore Network Information Centre

The Singapore Network Information Centre (SGNIC) is a fully-owned subsidiary of the Infocommunications Development Authority of Singapore. SGNIC was set up in October 1995 with the main purpose of administering the Internet domain name space in Singapore. It is the central registry delegated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) to administer domain name registrations under the '.sg' domain name. SGNIC collaborates with international, regional and local Internet communities to ensure a stabilised and efficient operation of the '.sg' domain name space in support of applications provided over the Internet.

For media clarification, please contact:

HO Ka Wei (Mr)
Manager, Corporate and Marketing Communication
Fax : +65 6211 2227
Email: info@imda.gov.sg